


The Legends and The Myths

by orphan_account



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, M/M, Mo'o Hunk, Mythical Beings & Creatures, Nekomata Keith, Not Canon Compliant, Pixie Pidge, Quintessence is Magic, selkie lance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-11
Updated: 2017-11-11
Packaged: 2019-02-01 00:14:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,942
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12693081
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: For the record, Lance just wanted to make a couple of things clear.First; he definitely, undeniably, absolutely did NOT have a crush on Keith. Keith was his rival and nemesis. There was no crush. At all.Second; said nonexistent crush was 100% NOT the reason they ended up stuck in space fighting an intergalactic empire of evil.No matter what Hunk said.





	The Legends and The Myths

Lance scowled mulishly at the new class listings, the exultant vindication of finally making fighter class soured by Iverson’s repeated reminders that he’d still be stuck as a cargo pilot if not for the programs star pilot’s absence. Hunk laid a heavy hand on his shoulder, sounding somewhere between exasperated and tired.

 “Come on man, let it go. You finally made fighter class, who cares why the spot opened up?”

Lance just glared harder at the poster, firmly stuffing down the flare of guilt at his best friends baffled concern. He hated making his friend worry as Hunk, like most Mo’o, had a tendency towards overextending himself on behalf of the people he cared about. But as usual, he couldn’t quite bring himself to bite his tongue when it came to Keith Kogane.

“I know, just…he flunked out! For a _discipline issue_! How does that make sense?! All the guy ever did was study and train on the simulator!”

Hunk peered at him uncertainly. “I mean, I guess you’re right but… It sounds like you’re upset that he’s gone? I thought you’d be happier about finally beating him?”

Lance threw his arms up with a huff of frustration.

“Except that I didn’t! This isn’t me beating him it’s…it’s him forfeiting! The hell kind of anticlimax is that?!  That’s not how rivalries work, Hunk! How’m I supposed to be satisfied with this?!”

Hunk sighed and pulled him firmly away from the class listings. “Well there’s not much you can do about it now.”

Lance shrugged half-heartedly and lapsed into a sullen silence as he was ushered back towards the dorms. After a solid seven minutes of grumpy brooding, Hunk spoke up hesitantly. “Maybe you just need to get your mind off things for a bit? We could nag Pidge into helping us hack the teacher’s Wi-Fi network and have a movie night.”

Lance perked up as an idea flared to life in his brain. “Yeah…yeah maybe you’re right.”

Spinning around to walk backwards, he locked eyes with the larger cadet as a sly grin spread slowly across his face. “Hey Hunk, how do you feel about a night on the town?”

Hunk’s eyes went wide and his crest flattened.

“Oh no. Lance. Lance no!”

 

* * *

 

 

They’ve managed to sneak out of the compound and are halfway to the bus stop when something flies by overhead, travelling low and fast. Lance swears and throws himself down behind a nearby rock formation alongside Hunk.

The other teen had his tail curled tightly around himself as he muttered anxiously under his breath.

“I knew this was a bad idea, I knew it! Oh man, they’re gonna put us on bathroom duty for the rest of the _semester-!”_

Lance frowned as he eyed the surprisingly small figure now heading out over open desert. The wings were too blurred by flight to really make out, but... 

“Was that Pidge?”

Hunk instantly stopped muttering and popped up to peer after the receding flier. Insatiable curiosity was undoubtedly one of Hunk’s better traits.

“…huh. I mean, maybe? The hair looks crazy enough anyway.”

Lance stood and turned away from the road, hurrying after maybe-pidge. Hunk yelped and scrambled after him. “Lance! Where are you going?”

Lance picked up his pace a little, keeping a careful eye on the pixie. Whoever it was moving slowly, crisscrossing methodically across the landscape as the headed slowly deeper into the desert. It was a clear search pattern, and luckily it kept them moving slowly enough that he wasn’t worried about losing sight of them.

“Come on Hunk, where’s your sense of adventure? If that is Pidge, don’t you want to know what he’s up to?”

Hunk muttered something about their many rounds of punishment duty killing off his sense of adventure, but he followed all the same. Lance stifled a laugh, and picked up his pace. Maybe today wouldn’t turn out to be a complete bust.

 

They were about three miles into the desert before the pixie finally landed, fiddling intently with whatever it was he’d been carrying. It was too dark too tell the color of their wings from a distance, but the distinctive flutter of three separate pairs marked him indisputably as the third member of their team. Lance grinned and picked up his pace, waiting until he was only feet away to call out.    

“Come out here often?”

Pidge shrieked and leapt straight into the air, zipping six feet straight up before he paused to glare incredulously down at Lance.

“McClain! What are you doing out here?!”

Lance narrowed his eyes suspiciously up at the wild-haired engineer as Hunk trotted up.

“See it’s funny, that’s just what we were wondering about you.”

Dropping to the ground, Pidge ducked his head nervously. “Oh, uh….nothin’ just- Just lookin’ at the stars...” 

Lance hadn’t heard an excuse that forced since the last time he’d been home. He was about to say as much when Hunk piped up from where he was craning his neck to peer intently at the device Pidge was still holding. 

“Wow, that’s really interesting Tech! It’s not garrison, is it?”

Pidge pulled it protectively to his chest, simultaneously defensive and smug. “Of course not. Built it myself.” Lance’s brows jumped and he leaned in curiously. “What, really?”

Pidge tipped his chin up, bragging slightly. “Yep. I designed it specially to track down specific energy wave-length patterns. Pretty cool, right?”

 Lance rocked back on his heels and stared pointedly at the smaller boy. “Yeah, it is. Didn’t think you needed to track any waves to find a good stargazing spot though.”

Pidge faltered, hazel eyes darting frantically between him and Hunk. Lance elbowed his friend, and the Mo’o stopped craning his neck to peer at the thing, putting on his most virtuous expression. The pixie glanced around, clearly scrambling for a way to deflect their attention. “Oh well…I was just…I was just doing some research for a project so- “

Hunk immediately looked stricken.

“A project? Did I forget one?! Which professor is it for? When’s it due? Oh man this is so bad- “ 

Pidge shook his head frantically. “No no, it’s just a private project! It’s not really for school or...” Hunk relaxed with a heavy sigh. “Oh, okay then. What’s the project then? Do you need any help?” The pixie shifted uneasily. 

“No, no. It’s not a big deal or anything, I was just checking something out.”

Hunk cocked his head curiously. “Like what?” The smaller boy was clearly reluctant to answer.

“Just some random energy signature that was messing with some scans I was doing. Probably not worth risking punishment detail for, honestly.”

Hunk, being the cinnamon roll he was, was quick to offer a helping hand. “Well since we’re already out here, why don’t we come with you? It can’t possibly get us into more trouble than sneaking into town would.”

Pidge looked distinctly rattled, glancing between Hunk’s cheerful sincerity and Lance’s mischievous suspicion.

“Um. I mean, it’s just that-”

For a minute he struggled to come up with an excuse, before his shoulders finally slumped with defeat. 

“Fine, I guess.”

Lance bounced forward to sling an arm around the pixies shoulders. “That’s the spirit, Pidge! This’ll be great team-bonding for the three of us!” The little blonde gave him the evil eye for a minute, then darted grumpily out from under his arm.

“Right.”  

 

* * *

 

It took them another two hours to finally reach what Pidge and Hunk both insisted was the general center of the disturbance. A series of plateaus and outcroppings grouped closely together that made Pidge’s little tracking device lose its mechanical mind.

Lance was not impressed.

“Great. a bunch of rocks. Pidge, are you sure-”

Pidge cut him off. “Who’s that?” Rising from the other side of the nearest outcropping, a dust trail was approaching the same formation that they were headed for. Lance straightened. 

“Okay, maybe not just rocks.”

Hunk’s tail lashed nervously. “Does anybody else think this is a little weird? I mean, what if this is some kind of secret base or something? I’m too young to be vanished by the government guys!”

Pidge pulled out a set of binoculars, squinting in the direction of whoever was leaving that dust trail. “It doesn’t look like any kind of official vehicle…” A moment of tense silence later, he sighed.

“Never mind, it’s just some guy on a hover-bike. I wonder what he’s doing out here?”

Something about that sentence raised a flag in the back of Lance’s brain. He frowned, speaking slowly. “Hey Pidge? What’s the bike look like?” The little engineer broke off muttering under his breath.

“Huh? Oh…I can’t really tell the model at this distance but it looks like a cross-country model, maybe with some modifications to the propulsion tanks. Definitely not government though, it’s got one of those racing paint jobs; red and white-”

Lance’s gut leaped dizzily and he dragged the binoculars to his own face, barely noticing Pidge’s indignant squeak as he dangled more than a foot off the ground. “Seriously? That’s Keith!” Dropping the binoculars (and by extension Pidge), he broke into a run. Hunk thundered after him, calling out in astonishment.

“Wait, are you sure?” Lance scoffed. “I’d know that mullet anywhere!” Pidge zipped into the air, keeping pace with them from above. “Who’s Keith?”

Both of them responded at the same time.

“A stuck-up jock from my class.”

“Lance’s rival-crush.”

Lance felt his face twist into something halfway between mortification and outrage. “HUNK! What the hell?!” Pidge dipped just low enough to smack the top of Lance's head. “Dammit Lance, watch where you’re going!”

He yanked his eyes away from his definitely-former-best-friend just in time to safely jump a small gully. A small grunt of effort and a heavy thump indicated that Hunk had made the jump safely as well, before the larger teen spoke up in an apologetically conciliatory tone.

“Well, he kind of is?" Lance yelped indignantly as Hunk pulled even with him, pounding steadily along while Lance’s initial sprint slowed to something more reasonable.

“There is no crush! Absolutely not! He’s my mulleted nemesis!! That’s it!”

Hunk looked completely unruffled by his corrections, speaking in the same slightly-gleeful matter-of-fact tone that he always fell into when sharing information. “Once they got paired up for wrestling in P.E., and that night he ranted to me for an hour straight about how soft Keith’s hair was.”

Lance felt his face burn.

“IT’S UNFAIR, OK!?! I’ve seen him in the showers and he uses _2-in-1_ _SHAMPOO_ _Hunk!_ Nobody’s hair should be that soft when they 2-in-1 shampoo!!!”

He could practically feel Pidge’s judgmental eyes boring into the top of his head. “You watched him in the showers?”

Lance’s voice jumped at least an octave.

“ _I JUST HAPPENED TO SEE HIM USING THE BOTTLE ONCE, IT’S NOT LIKE I WAS LOOKING AT HIM OR ANYTHING!”_

Pidge’s incredulous laughter rang out overhead, and out of the corner of his eye he saw Hunk nod decisively. “Rival-crush.”

Lance gritted his teeth and glared at the fast-approaching cluster of rock formations.

“Shut up!”

 

* * *

  

By the time they caught up with Keith, Pidge’s device was going crazy. The former cadet was heading for the mouth of a cave, a duffel slung over his back and a flashlight in one hand. Feeling belligerent, Lance hollered after him as soon as they got close enough to be clearly heard.

“Hey!”

Keith jumped and spun to face them, ears tipped back and violet eyes glowing eerily in the moonlight. “What the-?”

Lance stormed up to him, still wound up from the needling from his so-called friends. “Hey Keith, what do you think you’re doing out here?” Keith blinked, face open and bewildered. “I…what?”

Hunk stepped up, tone soothing. “Hi Keith! We’ve been following some weird energy readings for a project of Pidge’s. What about you?” 

Keith was staring at them, brow furrowed. “Energy readings…? I don’t-” His eyes flicked between the three of them, widening when they landed on Pidge.

“Matt?”

Pidge stiffened, wings rattling. “The names Pidge, actually.” Keith’s ears twitched forward and then back, as if he wasn’t quite sure what to make of the situation.

“Who are you people?” Lance made a noise of indignation, but Hunk stepped in before he could say anything.

“Oh sorry, I've heard so much about you I forgot we never actually got introduced! We’re students at the Garrison. I’m Hunk, that’s Pidge Gunderson, and you know Lance.”

If anything, Keith looked more confused. He cocked his head to one side and stared intently at Lance, brows furrowing in concentration. “…wait, I do know you. You’re that cargo pilot.”Lance drew himself up to his full height, nostrils flaring and eyes narrowing. “Yeah well, not anymore. I made fighter class!”

 Keith blinked at him, shoulders drawing up slightly.

 “Okay. Um. Congratulations…?” Suddenly he frowned and looked at Hunk. “You said something about weird energy readings?” Pidge darted forward, intensely focused. “Yes. Do you know anything about them?”

Keith hesitated, and looked away. “…I’ve noticed some kind of energy out here before, but I don’t know what it is.” Pidge practically buzzed in place. “Did the field disrupt your electronics? Your bike? Have you noticed anywhere that the effects tend to be stronger?” Keith chuffed.

“Look, I can show you around but there’s not much out here.” Pidge rocked back on his heels, eyes narrowed. “Then how come you’re out here.”

Keith went very still, like a cat tensing itself either to pounce or to run. “Um. Camping?”

Lance snorted at the questioning lilt, and Pidge looked set to continue his interrogation, but Hunk stepped in to smooth things over. “Hey guys? As interesting as this all is, we really do need to head start heading back soon. If we’re gonna take a look around, we should probably do it now.” Pidge hesitated for a minute, then gave a grudging nod. The former cadet gave a tight nod, switching on his flashlight and jerking his head towards the cave mouth.

“Alright so…other than a weird feeling or two, the only thing I’ve seen out here is in there.” Keith turned and headed for the cave with a flick of his tail. The movement caught Lance’s eyes and he stared, entranced by the hypnotic swaying. Pidge broke his trance by elbowing him hard in the side as he shouldered past.

Lance jumped and clutched at his side with a wheeze, glaring resentfully after his smallest teammate. Hunk’s tail flicked consolingly against his legs. It was familiar, heavy and strong and slick with scales. Bizarrely, Lance’s first thought was how different it was from Keith’s.

“It’s alright, buddy. There’s no shame in appreciating a pretty tail.” 

Lance gaped. Hunk offered him a firm nod, and followed Pidge, the only sign of his amusement the slight shivering of his dorsal spines. 

“OH COME ON!”

 

* * *

 

The carvings Keith showed them were incredible. They sprawled across the cave walls, the same angular lioness motif repeated over and over. Keith played the beam of the flashlight across the walls, revealing that they stretched from the front of the cave all the way to further back than the light could reach.

“They’re all over the place. I’ve tried doing some research, but I haven’t been able to find anything that matches yet.” Lance peered at the closest carving, reaching out to brush away some of the loose dirt obscuring part of the design. “So how did you even find- WHOA!” He leaped back with a shocked cry as every carving in the cave suddenly glowed a bright, fierce blue. Pidge practically climbed onto Hunks shoulders as all four of them clustered away from the walls.

“They’ve never done that before!”

Lance barely had time to register the alarm in Keith’s voice before the cave floor crumbled out from under them. Lance’s stomach leapt up into his throat as all four of them flew along a steep water-slicked slope. For a long minute they plummeted through the darkness, and Lance could hear the other three wailing somewhere behind him. And then, in the next instant, he was crashing into a shallow pool of cool water.

Gasping he shoved himself to his hands and knees, heart pounding furiously. The sudden spike of adrenaline combined with the water made his skin itch with the instinct to shift, but he bit it back. Other than a rippling in the skin of his shoulders and a slight lengthening of his canines, he held his shape. When he was sure he had it under control he sat back on his heels, shaking water-logged hair out of his eyes. And stared, mouth falling open as he took the enormous, robotic lioness looming majestically inside a glowing energy barrier at the other end of a long cavern.

“Are you guys seeing this…?”

Pidge zipped into the air, the buzzing of his wings shedding water in a cloud of droplets so fine they were nearly mist. “What is it?” Keith sloshed up and out of the water, tail lashing as he absently slung the dripping duffel out of the way across his back. His eyes never once left the lion. “The source of that weird energy. Has to be.”

Lance glanced over at Hunk, and then followed Keith and Pidge up to the lion. Pidge was hovering several feet up and staring wide-eyed, but Keith was leaning intently against the barrier.

“How do we get through this?” Lance came up alongside him, putting on his best relaxed smile and offering a weak joke to lighten the mode.  “Maybe we just knock?” He rapped his knuckles pointedly against the barrier and nearly screamed again when it shattered under the tap. 

The dull yellow of the lion’s eyes flared to life, and with a long rumble it leaned forward towards them. Lance flinched, but Pidge dropped from the air with a yelp, and Hunk snatched the pixie back behind him, his crest standing straight up in a terrified threat display. 

The lion paused, it’s massive jaw so close to them that Lance could reach out and touch it. For a moment it stilled, and then it’s mouth dropped open to reveal a ramp. Lance’s jaw dropped.

Out of the corner of his eye he caught a glimpse of Keith’s expression, wide-eyed and awed. Something in his chest swelled eagerly, and without thinking about it he scrambled up the ramp toward the roof of the Lion’s mouth. Hunk cried out as he vanished through the large hatch at the top ramp. “Lance! What are you doing? Get back here!” Lance barely heard him, enthralled by the spacious cockpit he had found. Wrap-around view screens and holographic consoles lined the walls, surrounding what could only be the pilot’s seat. 

Blue eyes wide, he walked slowly up to the luxurious-looking chair. Apparently, aliens liked comfort in their ships. Swept up in the rush of the moment, he took a seat. He barely had time to relax back into the smooth softness of it before the thing slid smoothly and swiftly up to the main console.

The other three walked up behind him just as the console lit up obligingly, the view screens flickering to life with a crystal-clear view of the cave outside. Lance laughed, incredulously delighted. He’d never heard of something even half as advanced as this ship. And with a cockpit like this, it had to be a ship.

Keith walked up beside him, ears pricked forward and voice soft. “This is incredible…” Pidge seemed to agree with him, the smaller boy’s wings rattling eagerly against each other as his eyes avidly tracked the neat scroll of alien characters that could only be some kind of readouts. Hunk on the other hand nearly beside himself with anxiety.

“Guys, this is a bad idea! Who knows what this thing is or why it’s even here?!” Keith bent over to intently examine the main console, and Lance was hyper-aware of the way the other pilot’s side brushed against his shoulder. “Calm down, big man. It’s obviously been here for a long time if people were carving up caves to mark its location.”

Lance missed Hunk’s reply as something cool and immense reverberated around him, momentarily overwhelming him with what felt like the echoes of something joyous and welcoming accompanied by a rush of sudden knowing.  Everything seemed to shift slightly, holographic consoles going from mysterious and incomprehensible to vaguely familiar, like a half-remembered game console from several years ago.

“Whoa! Did you guys feel that?!” 

Keith turned to look at him, frowning just a little in confusion. “Feel what?” Lance hesitated. He wasn’t sure but…that had felt almost like the time that dream-witch had spoken into his mind to call his attention to her carnival booth.

“I think it’s talking to me!”

He hesitated, then leaned forward to peer more closely at the main console. He couldn’t say he knew what everything did exactly, but he had a feeling that if he just…

Reaching out Lance tapped a quick command, fingers flying ahead of his mind with the thoughtless speed of muscle memory. Two handles rose from the arms of chair and the hatch slid firmly closed, a hiss of air signaling the sealing of the compartment as the lion rose smoothly to its feet and _roared._ The other three grabbed for the arms and back of the chair to brace, themselves, and Keith sounded astonished. “How did you do that?”

Lance felt a goofy grin stretching his face. “I just…did.” He glanced up for an instant, and then reached for the newly appeared handles. His heart was racing and his stomach felt fluttery with nervous exhilaration, something in the back of his mind quietly certain that these were the manual thrust controls.

“…let’s try this baby out!”

 

* * *

 

Lance whooped loudly as the lion rolled and twisted through the night sky, blood so thick with adrenaline and euphoria that he felt almost intoxicated. Hunk was screaming and all three of his companions were clinging to the back of his chair. Keith gasped and half-shouted as the lion flipped nose over tail, and rocketed straight up.

“Where are you going?!” Lance half-laughed, the presence from before rushing around him like a rain-swollen river, eager and irresistible. “I'm not goin’ anywhere; it’s like it’s on autopilot!”

An alert popped up in the corner of the left view screen and while he couldn’t actually read it, he somehow understood exactly what it was warning him of. The eagerness of the foreign presence surrounding him took on a predatory edge, and Lance felt his incisors drop slightly, hindbrain flaring to life at the promise of a hunt.

“It’s picking up some kind of alien ship approaching. I think it wants to stop it.” Pidge hauled himself further forward as the lion stopped its joyful flips and settled into a steadier trajectory. “What’d it _say_ exactly?” The pixie’s distinctly grumpy and skeptical tone made Lance scowl slightly, frustrated and fumbling for a way to explain the nebulous certainty and soothingly steady beat of _other_ flooding the cockpit.

“It doesn’t _say_ anything exactly, it just…it’s just kind of feeding ideas into my brain? Kind of?" 

Pidge looked ready to argue but then they were clearing the atmosphere, the vast star-studded expanse of space opening up around them, and they all fell silent for a few long minutes. The presence rumbled contented encouragement in the back of Lance’s mind, but he was entirely absorbed by the vastness before them.  

The moment was only broken when an enormous shift sailed into view, sleek and menacing and so massive Lance had trouble grasping the scale of it. Keith cursed violently and Pidge drew a sharp, alarmed breath. “That’s not a ship, it’s a flying city!” Hunk pressed closer against the side of Lance’s chair, voice tight and slightly too-fast. “I don’t think we can stop that, man! I mean, what if those are the aliens the lion belongs to? Maybe if we just give it back, they’ll go away?”

The lion rumbled aggressively in the back of his mind, but before Lance could answer the larger ship opened up with a barrage of purple energy blasts. Lance shouted, grabbing the controls and rolling out of the way at the last second. The suddenness of it nearly threw the others across the cockpit, but they managed to hold on and Keith snarled viciously.

“I don’t think they want to talk, big man.” Hunk chirped in alarm, and Lance could picture his wide eyes and flattened crest. “Right, sorry, bad plan.” Pidge grabbed his jacket, face set and voice hard-edged. “Lance, we have to get out of here!” Lance nodded tightly, brow furrowed in concentration and heart racing. He’d only been to one aerial combat class so far, and it had been more an overview of terms and basic tactics than anything else, but he had to try.

Keith’s hand landed on his shoulder. “Try to get in close and take out their guns first! Mounted weaponry usually has a limited range of motion, so the closer you can get to the hull, the harder it should be for them to hit us!”

Lance hesitated, then set his jaw and nodded tightly. A rush of confident certainty from the Lion overwhelmed the worst of his nerves and pushed down his own incredulous terror. “Right!” Throwing himself into action, he twisted around the energy blasts and dove towards the ship at high speed. Pidge’s fingers tightened in the sleeve of his jacket and he shouted as the sleek darkness of the enemy ship rapidly filled the view screen. “Be careful man! This isn’t a simulator!”

Lance opened his mouth to laugh, but it came out as a high-pitched trill. “Oh good! I always wreck the simulator!”

Hunk makes a sound of terrified despair at the gallows humor, but then they’re skidding across the ship's hull, the Lions enormous metal claws ripping it open like cardboard. With barely a thought from Lance, the Lion's mouth dropped open and released a tremendous beam of blue energy that blasted right through the larger ship's weaponry bank. Keith shouted in exultation, and Lance bared his teeth in a grin as feral satisfaction bloomed in his gut. “Alright, let’s go!” He managed to get the lion turned around and kicked off the damaged ship, shooting off into open space.

The material of the pilot’s seat creaked under Hunks grip, and Lance took a brief moment to be thankful that his friend hadn’t thrown up yet. “What’re we doing now?” Lance glanced over at the left view screen, where he could just see the alien warship coming around to follow them, and pushed the engines to go even faster. “Drawing that thing away from Earth.”

Keith eyed the enemy ship, tense with unspent aggression. “They’re gaining on us!” Lance blanched. The lion was already travelling so fast that the stars were flying by like streetlights seen from a highway. Pidge pointed at a blue-white ball looming ahead of them. “Hey, that’s Kerberos!” Hunk lunged forward, eyes wide and shocked.

“No way! That’d put us at the edge of the solar system! It takes us months to get out this far!” Pidge adjusted his glasses, watching as they blew past the moon without even slowing down. “Apparently, it doesn’t take an alien ship that long.” They were interrupted by an urgent reminder from Keith.

“Guys, we’ve got bigger problems right now!”

 Lance checked the readings, and sure enough the ship was still gaining on them. They might be able to outmaneuver it, but it didn’t look like they could outrun it. Before he could say anything though the energy readouts reported a power surge, and the vacuum just ahead of them distorted and then warped, a ring of almost mechanical looking light blooming around it.

“What the hell?!” The lion’s presence thickened around him, a sense of certainty and urgent insistence directed at the distortion flooding his sense of it. Pidge looked at him uncertainly. “…where does it go?” Lance hesitated, and for the first time he really felt how far in over his head he really was. “I- I don’t know. What do you guys think? Do we go?”

A brief hesitation, and then Keith spoke up in a tight, reluctant voice. “What else are we going to do? We can’t lead them back to earth, and I don’t like our odds of taking something that big in a head-on fight.”

There was a long moment where they all looked at each other in terrified silence. Then Hunk nodded once, eyes tight with concern, and Pidge reached out to lay a quietly supportive hand on his shoulder. Keith laid his ears back and bared his fangs defiantly, growl rumbling deep in his chest. Lance drew a deep breath and nodded back, eyes turning back to the looming distortion now filling the view screen.

“Alright. I guess we’re all ditching class tomorrow.”

 Shoving the thrust controls forward, he pulled out a last burst of speed and plunged headlong through the swirling event horizon. The lion shook furiously, streaks of bright light filling the view screen, and then it was over. The readouts had calmed, and the alien warship seemed to have just disappeared. Lance stared at the readouts in astonishment, only to be interrupted by Pidge’s hushed voice. “…I don’t recognize any of these constellations.”

Lance looked sharply back up and stared. An unfamiliar planet, blue and green with life but distinctly not Earth filled the right view screen.

“…where are we?”


End file.
